The fate of TikTok hangs in the balance as China and the US trade moves over a potential deal to keep the app alive for its 170 million American users.
On 9 April 2025, China’s commerce ministry declared that any sale of TikTok must pass its government’s strict review, throwing a wrench into negotiations just as President Donald Trump hinted that a deal remains within reach.
China’s stance is clear: no deal gets the green light without approval.
The ministry stressed that TikTok’s sales must comply with Chinese laws, particularly those governing technology exports, a nod to a 2020 regulation that gives Beijing veto power over the app’s algorithm, the secret ingredient behind its viral success.
The disagreement comes after Trump’s recent tariff hikes, which slapped a 54% duty on Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to push back hard.
China had already signalled it wouldn’t budge on the deal following Trump’s tariff announcement, a move that doesn’t seem to give TikTok too much significance in a broader trade war.
Meanwhile, Trump, speaking on 9 April 2025, kept hope alive, insisting that a TikTok deal is ‘still on the table.’ He extended the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, to find a non-Chinese buyer by 75 days, pushing the cutoff to mid-June after a near-miss on 5 April.
The deal, which would spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new entity majority-owned by American investors, could have been nearly finalised before China’s objections stalled it.
Investors, too, are on edge, with the US entity’s future clouded by geopolitical sparring.
Trump’s optimism, paired with his earlier willingness to ease tariffs, shows he’s playing a long game, balancing national security fears with a desire to keep the app functional for its massive US audience.
Washington has long worried that TikTok’s Chinese ownership makes it a conduit for Beijing to spy on the Americans or sway public opinion, a concern that led to a 2024 law demanding ByteDance divest the app or face a ban.
That law briefly shuttered TikTok in January 2025, only for Trump to step in with a reprieve. Now, with ByteDance poised to hold a minority stake in a US-based TikTok, the deal’s success hinges on China’s nod, a nod that looks increasingly elusive as trade tensions simmer.
If China blocks the deal, it could set a precedent for other nations to tighten their grip on digital exports, radically reshaping governmental interdisciplinary approaches and cyberspace, posing a final question: will the internet, as we know it, remain as a globally unified societal enabler or it will divide into national space with new monopolies?
